Students hope to reel peers into sewing

If you think you know what young women are interested in these days, think again. Facebook, of course. A career, sure. But sewing?

Well, yes, that too, at least according to Stephens junior Allyce King and senior Nicole Thieret. Somehow King, a 20-year-old fashion design and product development major from St. Charles, Mo., and Thieret, a 22-year-old marketing: public relations and advertising major from Perryville, Mo., found the time during the past year to write a sewing book, “My Style My Place,” set to hit the shelves this fall.

The book provides detailed instructions on how to complete more than 30 redesign projects involving sewing and embroidery, and its target audience is young people much like the authors themselves.

The hook?

"Sewing is a hip and modern thing,” says Thieret.

"And it’s a great creative outlet,” King adds.

In an age of mass production, these young women believe the opportunity to create a personal style through simple fashion design projects will appeal to many of their peers.

The book idea emerged in the summer of 2006 in Minneapolis, where the authors were attending Quilt Market, a convention for merchants in the sewing industry. As they sat in the Hard Rock Café having dinner one night, they came up with a book proposal and finished a draft within 24 hours.

Their presentation to potential publishers was a sophisticated marketing pitch that included trend boards and a clear understanding of their target audience.

"We’ve had to do this for every fashion class here at Stephens,” Thieret explains.

One of the participants at the convention, Krause Publications, expressed interest in the project and eventually became the book’s publisher.

In addition to project ideas and instructions, the book includes fashion shots and stories about the authors’ daily lives. Fashion illustrations by fashion design graduate Stephanie Link ’06 add to the visual appeal of the project.

"We wanted to ‘keep it in the family,’” says King, a sewing enthusiast since she was 5 years old.

Monica McMurry ’82, dean of the School of Design and Fashion, has worked with the authors in the past. She was struck by their aplomb and their willingness to help even when the task at hand wasn’t particularly glamorous.

"They worked really well as a team,” McMurry says. “It’s almost like Allyce is the right side of the brain and Nicole the left. But the fact that they can collaborate is what I find the most impressive.”

Plans for life beyond Stephens are not set in stone for either author. But as Susan Bartel, assistant professor of business and Thieret’s adviser, says, considering what they’ve already accomplished, one can only imagine what these women will do as alumnae.

The book will be available at the end of October 2007, at major bookstores, specialty shops and through Krause Publications, (800) 258-0929 or www.krausebooks.com.